Cutting down trees good for nature, economy

Morgan-Monroe State Forest

Matt Tully has an ax to grind with the state's forest products industry. He has written two columns in the past six months, both maintaining that the industry somehow controls the way the last two governors "treat our state forests."

To those of us who work in the logging industry, the thought that we influence governors' decisions seems silly, but the influence of other special interest groups on Tully is much more obvious.

Degreed foresters, who have spent their lives the woods, including our state forester, are eschewed by Tully in favor of the emotions of those who don't see trees as the world's most abundant and renewable natural resource. What's more, our state forests are verified sustainable and certified under both SFI and SFC, the two most environmentally rigid certifying bodies out there.

Time and time again, the state legislature has upheld the state's constitutional mandate to properly manage our state forests for multiple uses, which includes responsible harvests when trees have matured, and before they turn into environmental risks, not valuable assets of our citizenry. When trees must be harvested on state forests, it is done sustainably, and with benefits for the entire environment and ecosystem, including wildlife and plant health.

Trees store carbon when growing and give off oxygen. Finished wood products, like cabinets, floors, and furniture, continue to store that carbon and keep it out of the atmosphere for decades.

Tully needs to see the forest for the trees. If Greenpeace founder Patrick Moore can be converted into an advocate for trees and the good they do, surely a native Hoosier like Tully is not a lost cause.

Ray Moistner

Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen's Association

Indianapolis

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Cutting down trees good for nature, economy

Matt Tully has an ax to grind with the state's forest products industry. He has written two columns in the past six months, both maintaining that the industry somehow controls the way the last two